Help with hitching a plane ride

It looks like I'll be moving back to Portland, Oregon, in coming months. I have a problem: my cat. I don't want to spend 5 or 6 days driving across the country with my kitty in a cat carrier, subjecting her to a succession of 4 or 5 strange hotel rooms along the way.

Airlines will get me where I'm going in 6 and a half to 8 hours, but she'll have to spend all that time plus transit time to and from airports stuffed in a small cat carrier. (Before you ask, it's not really advisable to transport pets in the plane's cargo hold for a variety of reasons.)

There are professional pet transport companies who claim to take good care of the animals while they are transported by highway, but that sounds like a better idea for transporting dogs than cats.

My idea, which may be impractical for reasons you are about to tell me, is to fly across country by private plane, sharing expenses with the pilot. A pilot who, presumably, has his/her own reasons for flying to the West Coast. The pilot doesn't have to be a local pilot. It could be a New York pilot who's willing to stopover in Cleveland long enough to take on a passenger, a small amount of luggage and cat supplies, and a cat.

Replies to This Discussion

What is a cat like in a strange hotel room? Scared and hiding under the bed or wanting to explore everything? Can they go 8 or 10 hours on the road in a carrier without a feeding, watering, or litter box stop? If not, how did you handle that issue?

I own a Green Cheeked conure. I see cats as vicious evil predators so, of course, I would suggest FedEx. Just kidding, UPS is cheaper. :) I may be the last person you would go to for advice on cats but can YOU go 8 or 10 hours on the road without a feeding, watering, or a litter box stop? Take frequent breaks. If the pet is with it's favorite human I think it can handle strange situations.